43. Adrianna

43

ADRIANNA

I watch in slow motion as my sister throws her arms around Raiden, leaving the vampire stunned and frozen in place, unable to reciprocate.

I know deep in my heart that her coming is important.

I know deep in my heart that she needs to be able to make her own decisions.

I know deep in my heart that her mental abilities are on par with, if not greater than, Flora’s.

But the reality is: all of that is buried deep. Deeper than deep. And all I can see in front of me is my little sister. I’ve protected her from the world my whole life, and as much as I hate it, Raiden now stands here, protecting her from me.

“Let’s go,” I breathe, my throat dry with worry as I slip through the gathering and head outside. I can’t go back on my word and I have to trust in Raiden as I promised, but the idea of entering into any kind of battle with my sister nearby leaves me exposed and vulnerable. I can’t even fathom how I’m supposed to focus.

One thing is for sure: the faster and harder I fight, the quicker it will all be over.

How the hell am I supposed to differentiate between being a big sister and the queen? It’s impossible.

“Everyone who can use their speed to get to the city faster, please do so. Everyone else, convene with the defense leaders to figure out your role,” I order, turning to make eye contact with Beau and Raiden.

“Are you okay?” Kryll asks, planting his inked hand on my shoulder, and I calm just a little.

“I don’t know, but now isn’t the time for me to take a minute to decide. We need to act, and we need to act now.”

“How about we all stay together, and I transport us to the outskirts now?” Brody hollers, cutting through my thoughts, and I nod, internally berating myself for forgetting he can fucking do that.

The world shifts without a single moment being wasted, and the familiar cobbled streets appear underfoot. The silence and awkwardness from the castle remain where we left it as the shrieks and cries of our people echo around us.

Everyone moves into action as I grab two daggers from their sheaths, but before I take a single step, I find Raiden among the crowd. His eyes aren’t on mine, and if he senses my stare, he doesn’t acknowledge it, but I can’t be mad.

His attention is solely focused on Nora.

Despite the chaos ringing out around us, she stands tall and ready to move, as if she’s been in this situation a million times before.

I take a deep breath, tucking the sight of her into the back of my mind before I turn toward the trouble. Raiden was right. If anything happens to her, it will be his fault, and his trip to join her will be imminent, but not before I find a way to bring her ass back from the dead and give her a stern talking to.

“I’ll take to the skies for better coverage, but it sounds like the bulk of the noise is coming from the east,” Kryll states, pointing in the direction where it definitely sounds louder. I don’t get a chance to acknowledge his words, though. He’s gone before I can form a single thought, nevermind words, and I take that as my cue to rush the streets.

Footsteps pound behind me, following my own, and it doesn’t take long for the source of the screams to come into view.

Crimson stains every face, vampire or not, dead or alive, frenzied or scared.

Everything is a blur of limbs. Ravaging vampires pound the cobbled streets as shop doors are flung open and lifeless bodies pile up, creating a river of blood that streams toward us.

My fingers tighten around the steel in my hands and I take off toward the massacre without waiting for anyone else. Fire burns in the dark sky as Kryll’s wings flap above, raining Hell down on the danger in the distance while we focus on the imminent disaster.

The slice of my blade piercing through the first vampire’s throat rings in my ears, fueling the adrenaline coursing through me as he crumples to the ground. I don’t have time to waste, moving on to my next target. Then the next, and the next, but with every splatter of blood I add to the pool, it seems like another dozen vampires appear.

Fuck.

Buckling down, a snarl tears from my lips, my wolf begging to make an appearance, but I’m not ready to fight in this kind of situation as anything other than myself. My wolf hates my choice of wording, snarling that we’re one and the same, but I swallow the feeling down and charge toward the next vampire before he sinks his elongated teeth into the victim in his grasp.

Slicing both blades into his neck, I twist, relishing in the gurgle that rasps from his throat, feeling him go weak before he collapses to the ground. I leave the daggers where they are, rushing to catch the villager before they fall.

“Are you okay?” I rasp, watching wild eyes blink up at me as they nod softly.

“I think so,” the woman whispers, eyes filled with unshed tears, and I pull her to her feet, stroking her arm soothingly.

I want to stay and comfort her, but I can’t. There are others to save. Shuffling her toward the edge of the street, I shield her in a dark alcove away from the mess, attempting a reassuring smile as I take a step back, but before I can run back into the carnage, she grabs my arm, making me pause.

“I recognize you,” she breathes, and my eyes narrow slightly in confusion. “I remember you,” she reiterates like that will help make sense of what she’s saying, but I still come up blank. “You’ve saved me once before. Not quite like this, but…” Tears stream down her face now, but her words remain clear. “You boarded me and my husband in our store. You?—”

“I remember.” And I do. The first time we witnessed the frenzied vampires for ourselves. They wouldn’t accept my help, or her husband wouldn’t, at least. But that didn’t matter; I did what I had to do.

“I never got a chance to thank you then, but I do now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I insist, attempting another step back, but her fingers tighten.

“Thank you.”

I nod, grabbing her wrist, and she thankfully loosens her hold.

“Stay hidden,” I order, and she nods, her back hitting the wall behind her as she slumps to the ground, head in her hands as she sobs. It’s on the tip of my tongue to find out where her husband is, but something in my gut stops me. As if I know I’m not going to like whatever answer she has for me.

Pushing my feelings and emotions aside, I turn back to the bloodbath with my mind focused and my eyes narrowed.

The numbers are starting to wane, the barrage of frenzied fuckers finally dwindling. Relief floods my veins as I figure out where to rejoin the battle, but my gaze locks on Brody across the street.

His eyes are closed, his feet are an inch off the ground, and his arms are at his sides. His lips are moving, but I can’t even begin to guess what he’s saying. It takes me a moment to realize what he’s doing, though. There’s a few meters of empty road in front of him, with a thickening line of vampires on the other side of it.

It’s like he’s creating a barrier around us to stop their flow as Kryll flies high in the sky, his breath burning down on them. If he can manage those on that side, we might have a chance over here.

Water bursts across my vision, making me take a step back as I watch Arlo blast a vampire coming toward me. “Stay focused, Addi. I don’t want your men to kill me because you up and died,” he hollers, and I nod, spinning to rejoin the fray when an almighty scream rips through the air.

Not any scream.

Her scream.

Nora’s scream.

My heart shatters into a million pieces as I spin toward the sound, ready to turn into a frenzied fae to save her, but before my eyes even find her among the crowd, I watch as every vampire drops to the ground.

My fingers tingle with fear. Even when I find my sister standing and safe, I have to blink a few times to ensure I’m not just imagining it.

Her scream still ripples through the air, her jaw so wide I’m certain it’s going to snap, but my panic finally slows when I spy her holding hands with Flora, both of their eyes closed as Raiden stands to her left protectively.

A grin spreads across his face as he plants a hand on her shoulder, and her cry immediately stops.

What the fuck is going on right now?

“What was that?” Arlo grunts, pressing his palms to his ears as he grimaces at my side.

Flora opens her eyes first while Raiden turns to face Nora head-on, both hands on her shoulders now as he whispers something to her. Instead of answering Arlo’s question, Flora turns to Nora too, eyes wide as she gapes at my sister.

Really, what the fuck is going on?

Rushing toward them, desperate for answers, I slow to a stop a few feet away when Raiden’s words register in my ears.

“Nora fucking Reagan, you are something else. You are so strong, so freaking insanely wicked, it shouldn’t be real. Honestly, imagine what you could accomplish with practice and training. You are unbelievable. You’re definitely still annoying as fuck, but I’m proud of you. Just don’t go around telling everyone.”

“Nora?” I exclaim, still confused as to what the fuck is going on here, and her eyelids pop open, latching on to mine instantly. “What’s going on?”

I don’t look at anyone else but her. If Raiden’s words are correct, then she’s where my answers lie, and it’s about time I stop letting others talk over her.

“I don’t even know, Addi. I just… he just… I was scared the vampire was going to get you, and then I…”

I take it back. She’s too stunned to tell me a thing, and I need an answer now .

Turning my attention to Raiden, he beams. “Your sister connected with her magic, zoned in on who she wanted to hurt, and dominated the fuck out of them.”

“How?”

He taps his skull, but Flora answers before his lips can part. “We were trying to join our magic. I remember you saying that Nora’s mind abilities dominated her magic. I had read that combining strengths could be a thing, but that… that was all her,” she admits, staring at my sister in disbelief, and my chest swells with a combination of surprise and awe.

“I’m tired,” my sister suddenly blurts, swaying on her feet, and Raiden catches her before she passes out.

My relief is short-lived as worry forms in my heart as I edge toward my sister, but Raiden shakes his head.

“She’s okay. She just used a lot of magic. We need to get her somewhere to recuperate,” he explains as Brody and Kryll appear among the remains.

“What did I miss?” Brody asks, scratching at his head, and Arlo snickers, patting him on the shoulder.

“Let’s get a sample of the frenzied vampire blood and get Nora somewhere to rest. We can discuss everything afterward,” he explains. Brody and Kryll glance at everyone with raised eyebrows but don’t push any further.

“The compound isn’t far if you want to avoid the castle,” Kryll offers, and my gut twists.

“He’s not expecting us,” I worry, gnawing on my bottom lip, and Raiden scoffs.

“He shouldn’t have to.” He stalks off without another word, confirming his intentions as I swipe a hand through my hair.

Finally taking stock of where we are, I look over the dead vampires splayed out across the street when I notice a familiar face lying among them. My heart stills, my breath trapped in my throat as I rush toward them, dropping to my knees as a sob parts my lips.

“Addi?” Kryll hollers, concern in his voice, but I can’t speak. I can’t… no.

“Raiden,” I rasp, my emotions bubbling to the surface as I force my gaze away from the lifeless body layered among the dead to the vampire who will know the pain I feel in my soul right now.

He stops, glancing back over his shoulder at me before he turns to face me slowly. Wordlessly, Kryll takes my sister from his arms, bundling her against his chest as Raiden takes slow, unsteady steps toward me.

“No,” he whispers, blinking at me before his eyes narrow on the sweet face between us.

His arms are around me in a second, his sob against my shoulder enough to rattle my own as reality takes hold of us.

I spy the open restaurant door a few feet away. Even in the moonlight, the crimson-stained handprints on the wooden door are burning bright.

She’s gone.

Taking a part of my heart with her.

She’s gone, and it’s all their fault.

Someone will pay for this.

Someone will pay for the death of Pearl, I swear it.